Salt Water Part 24

"Now if we haven't bamboozled the old gentleman famously, my name's not Jack Stretcher!" he exclaimed with a loud laugh, slapping his thigh; an action which was naturally supposed by his audience to mark the _finale_ of his barbaric dances.

Exclamations of wonder broke from the lips of all around; and I, having played a few more airs, we were dismissed, graciously, to our dormitory.

Mr Vernon then told me that, while Jack was dancing, he had managed to speak both to Major Norman and his daughter, the chief having sent for the inmates of his harem to witness the strange seaman's dancing.

It was arranged that we should the following night try to communicate with the frigate's boats; and if they could manage to send a party on sh.o.r.e, that we should scale the walls of the harem, and carry off Miss Norman--they being ready to support us. She, at at all events, would be prepared for the emergency.

Mr Vernon told me that, from what he heard, there would be no use negotiating, as the old chief boasted that he never had given up a slave he had taken, and never would. He was also subject to fits of fury, so that no time was to be lost in carrying out our plans. The great difficulty was to communicate with the boats, but Jack undertook the task. While employed in the harbour he had observed where some small skiffs lay, and he declared that he could easily steal off with one of them, and should without difficulty fall in with the boats. The next day was to be spent in marking out our line of retreat, and in settling the spot at which the boats were to land.

In the afternoon Mr Vernon was sent for to exhibit his jewels, and I went with him. The Sheikh laughed at the idea of he himself having any to sell, but he had no objection to buy some; and that the ladies of the harem might select for themselves, we were ushered to the entrance of its sacred precincts. I kept my eyes very sharp about me, and I saw that, by scaling a not very high wall, we could easily get up to the very door of the harem, which was separated from the main building. I at once recognised Miss Norman, though she was veiled like the rest of the ladies. She came forward to examine the jewels, and looked at several which the Sheikh offered her. One after the other she put them back into the box, till at last Mr Vernon contrived, un.o.bserved, to slip a paper into her hand.

"It's all right," thought I. "Miss Norman will now be prepared when we are ready to help her to escape."

A few jewels were bought; but Mr Vernon signifying that he would be happy to return on the following day, should any of the ladies desire to change their mind, they unanimously declared that he must certainly come.

Several times during the day Jack made excuses for coming up from the harbour, and each tune brought his ample pockets full of rope. As soon as it was dark he came cautiously into our chamber, where we all set to work, and in a short time had manufactured a rope-ladder quite long enough to go over the garden wall.

"Now," said he, "I must be off, and try and fall in with the frigate's boats. I have a skiff all ready, but I may have some way to pull; so don't, sir, make a start till I come back and let you know all's right."

Several very anxious hours pa.s.sed away after Jack's departure, and Mr Vernon and I at last began to fear that some accident had occurred to him, or that he had missed the boats, and that we should have to risk another day within the old Sheikh's power. Major Norman and his daughter must have been still more anxious, for they were separated from each other, and less able to account for the delay than we were. At length our anxious ears caught the sound of a light footstep, and Jack poked his head in at the door.

"All right," he whispered. "The boats are ready to pull in when I signalise them. While you, gentlemen, go and get the young lady, I'll be off and call the major."

Eagerly Mr Vernon and I hurried out, carrying the ladder between us.

It was a wonder some of the numerous dogs, found in every Moorish village, did not give tongue at us. We reached the part of the wall nearest the harem. Mr Vernon soon clambered up it, and, hoisting up the ladder, secured one end on the garden side, by pegs in the ground, which we had before prepared; while I held down the outer side. I heard him give a low whistle, as he had arranged. While I was anxiously waiting his return, I felt a hand placed on my shoulder. I started with horror, and almost let go the ladder, for I thought it was a Moor come to capture me, and that our enterprise had failed; but, looking up, I saw Jack's honest face, and Major Norman behind him.

"I think, sir," said Jack, "if you were to go over the wall, and help the lady up, it would make quicker work, and it won't take you long to follow."

His advice seemed so good that I did as he recommended. Fortunately I did so, for I do not think otherwise the ladder would have kept in its place. I found Mr Vernon waiting at the door of the harem, in despair almost at the non-appearance of Miss Norman. At length the bars within were gently removed, and, the door opening, she stepped forth into the garden. There was no time for greeting. Closing the door, Mr Vernon took her hand, and hurried on to the ladder. Climbing up, he had lifted her over the wall, and placed her in safety in her father's arms, and I was following, when a door in another part of the building flew open, and a bright light streaming forth, I saw the old chief and a number of his attendants, with arms in their hands, rush out into the garden. I was over the wall in an instant, pulling the ladder after me, and not waiting to see which way they came.

"Fly, sir, fly!" I exclaimed. "The old tiger is after us."

No second warning was necessary, and Mr Vernon and her father, lifting Miss Norman between them, hurried along the road towards the beach, Jack and I bringing up the rear, to keep our pursuers at bay. Lights now appeared in different parts of the village, and just as we turned a corner we saw the old Sheikh and his people in hot pursuit of us.

"Run, sir! run as fast as your legs can carry you, and bring up the people from the boats," cried Jack, as he saw our enemies coming after us, and drawing a cutla.s.s with which he had provided himself from the boats, and buckled to his side. "I'll keep these chaps off from the young lady till help comes to us, I'll warrant."

I darted forward as fast as my legs could carry me. I was afraid every instant of being stopped by some Moor who might dart out from his house; but happily at that time the inhabitants of the village were fast asleep, and as yet there had been no noise to awaken them. Fortunately the old Sheikh was too fat to move fast; and his slaves, probably, had no fancy to encounter the formidable Englishman, whose agility of heel had made them fancy him little short of a Gin, or evil spirit of some sort. At last I reached the little creek where the boats were lying, the men resting on their oars, ready to shove off at a moment's warning.

"Help! help!" I exclaimed, panting for breath. "Help! or Mr Vernon will be retaken."

In a moment Adam Stallman, and a dozen men from the different boats, were by my side. All had been arranged for the emergency which had occurred. On we ran, in close order, at a double-quick step. Scarcely were we in time. The Moors were up to our friends, but Jack was laying about him in such gallant style, that no one could manage to lay hold upon them. His sword flew round his head like a flash of lightning; and though his opponents cut and thrust at him from all sides, he remained unhurt, while he had drawn blood from several of their sides. He shouted, and shrieked, and leaped about, springing now on one side, now on the other, yet back again in the middle of the road, if they attempted to press too much forward. Stallman, seeing at a glance how affairs stood, divided his people, so that they could encircle Mr Vernon and his friends; and then, coming up to Jack's a.s.sistance, for a moment entirely drove back his a.s.sailants. By this time the whole village was aroused, and the Moors, collecting in numbers from the houses, attacked us furiously on all sides. Our brave fellows, however, kept them at bay, and retreated in good order towards the boats. We had no time to lose, in truth, for they were making for the boats themselves, and, if they got in our rear, might cut us off, and overpower also the party left in the boats. It was with no small satisfaction that I heard the voice of d.i.c.ky Sharpe shouting out to us to come on; and then a brisk fire from the men with him cleared the intervening s.p.a.ce of Reefians, who had got ahead of us. The old chief and his slaves had hitherto not fired, either for fear of hurting Miss Norman, or because they had no powder or firearms. Now, however, the blood of all parties was up, and pistols began to flash, and sabres to clash, and a hot fight was going on, as we made a dash for the boats, and Miss Norman was lifted safely in. The Reefians now rushed furiously down on us. Adam Stallman and Jack Stretcher were the last men in, they keeping a whole host of Moors at bay, while the boats were being shoved off; then, by a desperate leap, Jack, by Stallman's order, got into one of the boats, while he himself sprang into another. Alas! at that moment a volley came rattling down among us, and before Stallman could take his seat he fell into the bottom of the boat. It was the one I had reached. I stooped down.

"Where are you hurt, Stallman? Oh! tell me, tell me," I exclaimed, taking his hand.

"In my side; lend me a handkerchief, pray," he answered, faintly. "But give way, my lads--give way; never mind me."

The men had stopped in their exertions for a moment, and were leaning forward to discover if he was much hurt. They needed not, however, a second order, for volley after volley came rattling over us; while the foremost and more daring Reefians in their rage rushed into the water, in the hope of seizing us. Some who grasped the gunnel had reason to repent their temerity; for we dealt them such blows with our cutla.s.ses, that they were compelled to let go, every wound they received increasing their fury. Others waded after us up to their arm-pits, firing their pistols, and cutting at us with their scimitars, shouting fiercely at us all the time, and grinding their teeth with rage and disappointment. It was no child's play; for, had they caught us, they would have destroyed every one of the party. By dint of great exertion the boats were at length got clear and into deep water. By the flashes of the firearms I could see the old Sheikh standing on the beach, and trying to urge his followers to pursue us still further. When they found that all hope of preventing our embarkation had gone, they hurried of to the harbour to launch their own boats for the pursuit. We had a long way to pull, several of our people were hurt, and the boats were likewise full of men; so that we felt we were far from certain of escaping after all.

Mr Vernon ordered the gun in the bow of his boat to be fired, to draw the attention of the frigate, should she not have heard the sound of the musketry; and I followed his example. By this time we were a couple of miles or more away from the sh.o.r.e, but the frigate was still some five or six miles from us. Before long, by the light of the dawn just breaking, we could see the Reefian boats stealing out from the land; but we had now no great fear of being caught. Still our enemies pulled very fast, and were animated with every feeling of rage and revenge to excite them to exertion. Hitherto there had been a dead calm, which much facilitated our progress; and as the gloom of night cleared away, we could see, in the grey of the morning, the frigate's topsails hanging uselessly in the brails. I kept anxiously looking back at our pursuers.

"Do they gain on us?" asked Stallman, who sat propped up in the stern-sheets.

"I fear so," I replied; "but the frigate is still not so very far off."

"If they overtake us, I will ask you, D'Arcy, to drop astern a little, and try and keep them at bay, so as to afford the first gig a better chance of escaping," he said, faintly.

This was the boat Miss Norman was in.

"Of course, Stallman," I answered, "every one here will do their best to defend the young lady. Won't you, my lads?"

"Ay, ay, sir; never fear," replied the men, with one voice, at the same time giving a cheer. "Hurra! hurra!"

The enemy's boats were now drawing uncomfortably near, and the headmost ones had begun to fire, though their shot did not reach us. Still it was too evident that they would be up to us before the frigate could come to our a.s.sistance. There she still lay, like a log on the water.

I did not much fear the enemy; but I knew if they overtook us, even if we escaped, it would be the cause of much more bloodshed. Presently, as I was thinking of this, I saw a light ripple curling over the smooth, shining surface of the leaden-coloured sea. Another and another cat's-paw followed; the frigate let fall her topsails--they were sheeted home; sail after sail was set; and just then, as the sun rose in a blaze of glory, our gallant ship was seen standing towards us--a magnificent and welcome sight--under a press of canvas, lighted up by the bright rays of the warmth-giving luminary. A simultaneous cheer rose from the boats' crews as they beheld the spectacle; and, with redoubled efforts, they gave way to meet the ship. The Reefians saw that their prospect of catching us was gone; and giving us a parting, though happily harmless volley, they pulled round, and made all haste to the sh.o.r.e, to avoid being themselves in their turn pursued and captured. We were, soon after this, on board, and heartily welcomed. The poor fellows--there were four or five of them who had been badly wounded--were carried to their hammocks, and tended carefully by the surgeon. Adam Stallman was conveyed to Mr Vernon's berth in the gun-room. He was evidently more hurt than anybody else. The doctor gave a very unfavourable report of his case to the captain from the first. Every one on board grieved much to hear of his danger, for he was much beloved; but he seemed calm and contented. When I saw him his looks were cheerful--a smile was on his lips. Few would have believed that he was a person about shortly to die, and that he full well knew it. It was not a stoical indifference to death; not the courage of a man endowed with physical hardihood; but true Christian fort.i.tude and resignation to the will of G.o.d, trust in his Maker's promises, hope in the future, which supported him. We were now returning to Malta; for Captain Poynder saw that there would be no use of attempting to punish the Reefians for their late acts, and that we should certainly only be the chief sufferers if we attacked them.

One day Adam Stallman sent for d.i.c.ky Sharpe and me.

"My dear boys," he said, "I have sometimes given you good advice, and I much regret that I have not given you more, as you always took it well.

I may never have an opportunity of speaking to you again."

"Oh! don't say so, Stallman," sobbed my young messmate. "Don't die!

You must recover, and stay with us."

"Life and death are in G.o.d's hands alone," replied Adam Stallman. "As you have a regard for me, promise me that you will try not to forget what I say to you. Remember always that you were sent into this world as a place of trial--that you have numberless bad propensities existing in you, and many temptations constantly offered to you--that your trial consists in the way you conquer the one and resist the other; but also recollect that you have no power whatever of yourselves to do this--that of yourselves you would not even know how to resist--you would not know that it was necessary to resist. But then you must know that G.o.d is just, merciful, and kind; that He has given mankind a guide, not only to tell them that they must resist, but to show them how to resist temptation--how to conquer evil propensities; that if they will pray to Him, He will give them knowledge and grace, and strength sufficient for all their wants. In that guide--that Book of books--He tells them that He sent His only Son, that His sufferings and death might be accepted instead of their eternal suffering and death, to which their sins would most justly have consigned them. Therefore, my dear boys, I want you to study, that book, day after day--never give it up. But, at the same time, do not fancy that you are doing a meritorious act by merely reading it. You must examine it, and treasure it, as you would a precious gift. You should read it with thankfulness and joy that G.o.d has given you that precious gift. You are not doing him any service by reading it. The acts alone which result from reading it do him any service; and, after all, those acts are only your bounden duty. Common grat.i.tude demands them from you. Never forget. You must pray daily-- pray for grace, and faith, and strength, and knowledge; and be a.s.sured that G.o.d will give them to you at last. Never cease praying. What I have said may seem hard to you, my dear boys; but it is the truth; and I could not have died happy without saying it, as I felt that it was my duty to say it. Be religious, and never be ashamed of your religion.

Hoist your colours in sight of the enemy, and fight bravely under them wherever you go."

Much more our friend said, but the above was the pith of his discourse.

I believe that neither my young messmate nor I ever forgot what he said.

By following his advice, we have found a comfort, a joy, a strength, which we should never otherwise have known. Our kind friend's forebodings were speedily fulfilled; and before we reached Malta he had, in perfect peace, yielded up his life to the G.o.d who gave it.

"What! did the good Adam Stallman really die?" some of my young readers may ask. Yes; good and bad, rich and poor, of all ranks and stations in society, are often summoned in their joyous youth, their flowering manhood, by a just G.o.d, to render up an account of their mode of life.

Oh! my young friends, remember that you, too, may be summoned away from this bright world, and all you hold dear, in an hour, a day, a year--at a moment you think not of; and that you, too, must render up an account of how you have lived on earth before the great, the just, the All-seeing Judge; that every thought of your heart, every action you have performed, will then be laid bare; and that, unless you can say, I did my duty to the best of my power and knowledge, and I trusted to Christ to save me, it were better, far better, that you had never been born. I shall be glad to find that my adventures amuse you, but I should also deeply blame myself if I did not try and make you understand these things; and I should feel that it were also far better that my book had not been written.

CHAPTER NINETEEN.

RETURN TO ENGLAND--APPOINTED TO THE OPOSSUM--THE COMMANDER'S OATH--HOW HE KEPT IT--THE GALE--LOSS OF MASTS--OLD POPPLES--DEATH OF COMMANDER-- THE PIRATE--END OF MYERS.

I forgot to say in the last chapter, that before shaping our course for Malta, we ran a little way down the coast, and landed our young Reefian prisoner. It might have been better had Captain Poynder endeavoured, through his means, to treat with the old Sheikh for the liberation of his captives; but, probably, the success of such a plan was considered too doubtful to be attempted. What became of Mr Vernon's jewel-box I do not know: I fancy the contents were of very little intrinsic value.

We carried Major Norman and his daughter to Gibraltar, whence they went to England. Mr Vernon did not marry for upwards of a year after this.

He and his wife are among my most intimate friends. We met with no more adventures worth recording in the old _Harold_. At length we returned to Portsmouth, and being paid off, I was once more a gentleman at large.

I did not long remain so, for my kind uncle took care to get me another ship as soon as possible. In the meantime, I accompanied d.i.c.ky Sharpe to the home of his father and mother, Sir John and Lady Sharpe. They were excessively kind, and made a great deal of me; and so did the Misses Sharpe, who, being a good deal older than d.i.c.ky, treated us somewhat like little children, petting and humouring our fancies, which did not altogether please me. It made me much more inclined to act like a child, and to join d.i.c.ky in any pranks he proposed. I was very sorry, however, to have to go away. It was, at the same time, no little satisfaction to both of us, that we found ourselves appointed to the same ship--a fine sixteen-gun brig, just fitting out--the _Opossum_, Captain Cranley. d.i.c.ky, however, got leave for two or three weeks, while I had to join at once. His friends got him the appointment because it was considered better that he should see some service in a small craft, with a smart officer, which our commander was said to be; while I joined because I was not likely to get a better. I had gone to see Larry as soon as I reached England, and found him and his wife flourishing. When I got back to Portsmouth, while the brig was fitting out, I paid him frequent visits, to the old man's great delight; and he used to tell everybody he met what a first-rate sailor I had become, winding up invariably, with a look of no little pride, "Ay, sir, and 'twas I taught him--didn't I, Master Neil?"

I must not forget to mention my kind uncle and aunt, and Daisy Cottage, where I was always a welcome guest. He had paid the cutter off, but expected soon to obtain another appointment. Of the Marlows I could only hear that they had gone abroad; but as Miss Alice had promised to write to my aunt as soon as they had settled, I was in hopes of hearing about them. But I must get on with my story. The _Opossum_ was at sea, running down Channel, with orders to wait at Falmouth for despatches and mails for Halifax, Nova Scotia. With the exception of d.i.c.ky Sharpe, all my brother officers were strangers to me, and mostly to each other, so it took a little time before we became acquainted and shook into our places. Captain Cranley, I found, was somewhat of the old school--very kind-hearted and simple-minded, and not less strict towards himself than towards others--with a nice sense of honour, and very sensitive of rebuke. I was very glad to find that my old friend Jack Stretcher had volunteered, with the hope of one day becoming a warrant-officer. I must also mention the boatswain, who, though an oldish man, had not long taken out his warrant. He was a prime seaman, with nothing very remarkable in his appearance, except that he was tall and thin, and had a long bushy beard, now somewhat grizzled. The aforesaid individual, Mr Popples, was neat and clean, and had really good manners; his great ambition being to rise in the world, though he had begun to ascend rather late in life. We youngsters had a great respect for him, notwithstanding some of his peculiarities, and should never have dreamed of playing him the tricks we did old Chissel and Trundle in the _Harold_. Two days after we left Falmouth, the wind, which had been from the eastward and moderate, chopped round to the westward and north-west, and began to blow very heavily. Our commander, however, was not a man to be frightened by a capful of wind; so we close-reefed the topsails, and lay upon our course as near as we could. The gallant little brig headed the seas bravely, and gave us every reason to hope that we might weather out the gale without damage. Towards the evening of the third day, however, it came on to blow harder than ever; the clouds came gathering up in thick ma.s.ses, as if hurried one on the other, without the means of escaping, and the sea rose higher and higher. Mr Pullen, the master, kept glancing to windward in a significant manner.

"What do you think of it, master?" asked Captain Cranley.

"Why, sir, the sooner that we up-helm, and run into port, the better for the ship and ourselves," replied Mr Pullen. "There's no use straining a vessel till every timber in her creaks and groans with pain,--that's my opinion."